UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Reuters) - A United Nations task
force has recommended in a report released on Tuesday an
overhaul of the office of the presidency of the U.N. General
Assembly in the wake of a U.S. investigation into an alleged
bribery scheme involving a former head of the assembly.

U.S. prosecutors since October have charged seven people for
participating in a scheme that involved the payment of more than
$1.3 million in bribes to John Ashe, former U.N. Ambassador from
Antigua and Barbuda and president of the General Assembly in
2013-14, from Chinese businessmen, including Ng Lap Seng, a
billionaire Macau real estate developer.

In addition to requesting an audit, due to published soon,
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon set up a task force to make
recommendations on how to improve transparency at the office of
the Assembly president, a rotating post filled annually by
different member states.

"The allegations involving the president, which have
tarnished the image and reputation of the (U.N.), occurred in an
environment where there were significant loopholes and blind
spots in the operational arrangements for the president and the
office," the report said.

"Despite the high level of visibility of the office, there
are insufficient transparency and accountability measures," it
said.

The assembly president is not a U.N. employee.

The task force noted problems with the office's funding,
saying its operating budget has remained unchanged at $326,000
since 1998, apart from inflation adjustments. As a result,
presidents could seek funds via "cash and in-kind contributions
from member states and non-United Nations entities."

These funding arrangements have no systematic oversight, it
said.
Continuación...